1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to spools. More specifically, among spinning reels, the present invention relates to line-winding spools fitted to the fore end of the spool shaft that reciprocates with respect to the body.
2. Background Information
Spinning reels are generally furnished with a reel body that attaches to a fishing rod; a line-winding spool fitted to the fore end of a spool shaft that pumps back and forth with respect to the reel body; and, fitted rotatively to the reel body, a rotor for winding fishing line onto the spool. Spinning-reel spools of this sort include a bobbin trunk onto which fishing line is wound, a skirt larger in diameter than and formed unitarily on the rear end of the bobbin trunk, and a front flange provided on the front end of the bobbin trunk.
To serve to lighten the weight of the bobbin trunk and skirt, light-metal manufacturing materials such as aluminum alloys and magnesium alloys are used. Meanwhile, because the front flange is subject to wearing and scratching by the fishing line rubbing on the outer periphery when the fishing line is reeled out, in some cases the front flange is provided as a ring-shaped member separate from the bobbin trunk. In situations in which the front flange and the bobbin trunk are made separate members, taking durability and wear resistance into consideration, a rigid material, e.g., a hard metal such as stainless steel or a hard ceramic such as zirconia, has been used in the past for the front flange.
The relative density of hard materials such as stainless steel and zirconia generally is large. Therefore, being that the front flange is produced from a hard material in the foregoing conventional spools, designing the spool to be lightweight overall is difficult even though the bobbin trunk and the skirt are lightened. Particularly in the case of standard type spools whose front-flange outer diameter is large relative to the outer diameter of the bobbin trunk, the fact that the inner/outer diametric difference of the ring-shaped front flange is large means that the bulk of the front flange is large and leads to weight increase in the spool.
In view of the above, there exists a need for spinning reel spool which overcomes the above mentioned problems in the prior art. This invention addresses this need in the prior art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.
One object of the present invention is to provide the spool in spinning reels as lightweight as possible while maintaining wear resistance and durability in the spool front flange.
A spinning-reel spool in a first aspect of the present invention is fitted onto the fore end of a spool shaft that reciprocates back and forth relative to the reel body of the spinning reel, for line-winding, and includes a bobbin trunk, a front flange, and a flange-fastening member. The bobbing trunk is fitted onto the fore end of the spool shaft. The front includes a first flange portion provided as a brim encompassing the front end of the bobbin trunk, and a ring-shaped second flange portion fitted removably and reattachably onto the outer periphery of the first flange portion and made of a hard material whose relative density is larger than that of the bobbin trunk and the first flange. The flange-fastening member is a component for fastening the second flange portion onto the first flange portion.
The first flange portion among the front-flange portions of this spool is provided on the bobbin trunk, and the second flange portion, whose relative density is larger than that of the bobbin trunk and the first flange portion, is made as a separate component from the first flange portion. This serves to lighten the first flange portion together with the bobbin trunk. The outer peripheral part of the front flange is what the fishing line principally rubs on during line reel-out; providing a second flange made of a hard material removably and reattachably on that part therefore also prevents scratching and wear in the outer peripheral area. Herein, the fact that the front flange is divided into two sectionsxe2x80x94the second flange portion, manufactured of a hard material whose relative density is large, arranged on the outer peripheral area prone to scratching where the fishing line rubs; and the first flange portion, whose relative density is small, arranged in the remaining inner peripheral areaxe2x80x94maintains wear resistance and durability in the front flange, and lightens the spool as much as can be.
The spinning-reel spool in a second aspect of the present invention is a spool as set forth in the first aspect, wherein the first flange portion is formed unitarily with the bobbin trunk. In this case, the fact that the first flange portion and the bobbin trunk are formed unitarily serves to lighten the weight; the unitary formation also keeps the strength of the first flange portion high.
The spinning-reel spool in a third aspect of the present invention is a spool as set forth in the first or second aspect, further including a skirt larger in diameter than the bobbin trunk and formed unitarily with the bobbin-trunk rear end. In this case, the skirt is, together with the bobbin trunk, designed to be lightweight.
The spinning-reel spool in a fourth aspect of the present invention is a spool as set forth in the first or second aspect, wherein the outer diameter of the first flange portion is larger than the mid-value between the outer diameter of the second flange portion and the outer diameter of the bobbin trunk. Because in this case the outer diameter of the inward first flange portion is more than the mid value with respect to the outer-diametric difference in the front flange portions totally, the proportion of the entire front flange that the first flange portion occupies is larger, facilitating lightweight design of the spool overall.
A spinning-reel spool in a fifth aspect of the present invention is a spool as set forth in the fourth aspect, wherein the difference between the inner diameter and the outer diameter of the second flange portion is 3 mm-25 mm. An inner-outer diametric difference of less than 3 mm would make the second flange portion too narrow and of insufficient strength. Again, in excess of 25 mm the proportion of the front flange overall that a large relative-density second flange portion would occupy would be great; and the entire spool would be oversized, leading to weight increase in the spool overall.
A spinning-reel spool in a sixth aspect of the present invention is a spool as set forth in the first or second aspect, wherein the first flange portion has a fillet section that in cross-section in the spool axial direction becomes nearly rectilinear. In this case, the nearly rectilinear fillet section makes the outer diameter of the first flange portion larger, further lightening the spool.
A spinning-reel spool in a seventh aspect of the present invention is a spool as set forth in the first or second aspect, wherein the flange-fastening member is fastened by screwing into the inner peripheral surface of the bobbin trunk. In this case, because the flange-fastening member is fastened by screwing into the bobbin trunk, the second flange portion is pressed uniformly, as opposed to a configuration in which the flange-fastening member is held fast by screws. Further, the fact that the second flange portion may be fastened just by twisting in the flange-fastening member makes attaching/removing the second flange portion easy.